many people have had bad experiences with overcrowded graphic-facilitated meetings
Graphic-facilitated meetings have the potential to be motivating! They should give a space where individuals converge for a mutual purpose. Whether it’s making decisions, analyzing a current crisis, or providing mutual assistance — any meeting should be inspiring.
Ideally, each participant should come from the meeting feeling appreciated, understood, and positive about the function and any proposals made.
However, many people have had bad experiences with overcrowded graphic-facilitated meetings. Any meeting with hundreds of participants is never favorable! The meetings drag on and on, with noise and tempers moving high—people shouting over one another with no results. Sometimes the venue becomes full, and people can’t get enough space and time to express their ideas. Some can’t access the presentation, virtually leaving them to wonder why they even turned up.
Effective graphic facilitation involves taking responsibility for making meetings as valuable and straightforward as possible, irrespective of the number of participants involved. As leaders, it is vital to understand the idea of large group facilitation and how it can be useful in establishing beneficial and prosperous meetings.
The first question here is whether it is possible to facilitate hundreds of people successfully. The answer is straightforward. It is possible! It all depends on how you plan the meeting.
Planning
Knowing the expectations and challenges involved in facilitating a large group is a significant concept that can assist you with your plans.
The following three habits will help you plan well to facilitate a big group graphically.
Share Written Agenda in Advance
It is necessary to put down your agenda in advance. If you don’t understand agendas, make a shortlist of issues to be discussed, and ensure that materials are dispatched to the group in advance before the meeting day. For good results, give accurate background data of the graphic facilitation plan so that everybody gets common information.
If you frequently hold meetings, like weekly or monthly conventions on different projects, you can develop a meeting template in advance. With that in place, formulating an agenda is by just filling the blanks. Dealing with more than 100 attendees can be very easy if they know the issues to be discussed beforehand. This is where the agenda becomes effective.
- Study The Attendees’ Schedule List
The people attending your graphic facilitation meeting can make or break your potency. Imagine you are in meetings where an important individual — like the manager or a core contributor — is not present. In that case, no substantial decisions can be made. It can be heartbreaking not only to the organizers but to the entire group.
You should revise the attendees’ list to ensure that any important name isn’t left out. Know the number of people attending the meeting for easy planning. From this, you’ll know how much space you require, the number of seats to be made available, and the number of consumables you need.
Remember, the objective of graphic facilitation is to make work done and decisions made. Graphic-based meetings are not the best way to share standard information except if the info is sensitive enough. It is a learning and brainstorming occasion. Any other information can be shared through normal channels such as emails, phone calls, and notices, among others. It’s essential to ensure that all the required individuals are on the list of attendees.
- Coordinate with Group Leaders
If you are an external graphic facilitator, you must have a good dialogue with the group’s administrator in advance to understand their preferences. Sometimes the goals, as stated by the leader coordinating the meeting, can be different from what you expect. Without a doubt, work entirely with the clients’ goals.
Actual Process
Big groups provide a different set of challenges for the facilitator. The actual graphic facilitation can be so frustrating, if not well done. Here are things to consider when working with hundreds of people.
- The Tables
Set up the tables or working platforms with a specific number of participants per table to ensure each person is involved. You can arrange the tables to accommodate ten people per table. It not only ensures this is controlled but also provides the opportunity for everyone to participate.
- Visibility
Try checking how visible you will be during presentations. You or your assistant can try some of the seats before the participants arrive to check how visible the presentation area is, including the graphic presentation screens, boards, or charts.
- Assistants and Facilitators
Employ several people to assist you in guiding the group. Having facilitators is vital as they can help you take control of the minor groups. You can work with one assistant per a manageable number of participants.
- Participants’ Expectations
Instead of asking about the participants’ expectations from everyone at a time and jotting down on the flip chart, give them a piece of paper to note the items down. You can then read through some of the questions and expectations to understand how to approach your presentation. At the end of the workshop, you can keep the items as part of your evaluation.
- Group Activities
Table or group activities are vital when working with over 100+ people, and it’s crucial to give a mixture of activities. Apply group discussion and then obtain one idea per table. One of your assistants can record the thoughts from one subgroup to another.
Final Thoughts
Graphic facilitation in meetings of 100 + people can be challenging. You need to understand that wisdom is in the people, and when they are brought together in the right objective and activities, they find solutions. As you integrate these strategies into personal proficiency, experience, and technique, be aware that each person is unique and adjust each engagement to satisfy every individual’s specific demand. You should work closely with your planning team members and assistants, together with the graphic facilitation sponsors, if any, to make the graphic facilitation successful. A prosperous meeting should have a clear purpose and a standard set of information sharing processes that allows everyone to participate.